


Once Again

by eafay70



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Getting Back Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 00:26:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18862012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eafay70/pseuds/eafay70
Summary: Sasha has had Tosha on his mind a lot since they met as roommates for the U18 Worlds tournament over a decade ago. When Tosha signs for Dallas, Sasha eventually realizes that this could be a new chance for them.





	Once Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EveryDayBella](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EveryDayBella/gifts).



> Dear EveryDayBella,
> 
> Hi there! I fell in love with your prompt right away and greatly enjoyed writing it, so I hope you greatly enjoy reading it!
> 
> A quick note on names: Since this is in Rads' POV, I figured it would make most sense for him to think of himself as "Sasha," which would make Dobby "Tosha." After quite a bit of googling, I found that the diminutive for Makar is "Makarka," so that's what Sasha calls his son in this fic. However, I admit that I don't completely understand the many customs regarding Russian diminutives, so there's a decent chance that "Makarka" actually isn't the diminutive a father would use toward his son. =/

The rumors made sense to Sasha: A good goalie could only help the Stars, and Tosha was certainly a good goalie. Sure, he’d probably be the backup here just like in Boston, but that would be okay. At this point, after 14 years of friendship, Sasha didn’t think anything of calling Tosha to discuss the matter: “So, want to come here where it’s nice and warm?”

“Well, right now Dallas is too warm for anyone,” Tosha chirped. “But no snow to shovel in the winter sounds very nice indeed.”

“It is,” Sasha confirmed. “And it’s easy to get used to how things are here.”

“Do you mean on the ice or off it?”

“Both. It’s not a huge market, but the fans we do have are enthusiastic. And the team is a great group of guys. I’m pretty sure we can go pretty far this upcoming season – if you came here, it’d make me believe in us even more.”

Tosha hummed pensively. “Would I get to hang out with Makarka whenever I wanted?”

“Of course!” Sasha knew he couldn’t really guarantee that, given that his son had his own activity-filled life, but he was fairly certain it was true. “You’re one of his favorites to watch on TV. And you’ve seen how happy he gets whenever you come visit.”

Tosha laughed. “I’ll take everything you’ve said into consideration. You’ll be among the first to know when I decide. Bye!”

“Bye!” Sasha ended the call and sighed. He supposed being among the first to know was a good thing, but a small part of him wished he could be the very first to know, even if that ship had sailed not very long after they’d met.

**

Just a few days later, Sasha’s phone rang. He looked to see who was calling and smiled as he answered: “You’ve made up your mind, Tosha?”

“I have.” Tosha paused, presumably for dramatic effect. “Might you be able to recommend a good hotel in Dallas? I’ll need somewhere to stay while I look for a place to live.”

Sasha fist-pumped as if he’d just scored a goal. “My recommendation is the Radulov Inn. There’s a room that would suit you perfectly.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Tosha said. “I’ll text you when I know what time I’ll arrive in Dallas. What should I get the little one as a gift?”

“Your presence is the best gift he could ever receive.”

“I’d argue with you about that, but I have way too much to do. Talk soon!”

Sasha tried to say “goodbye,” but was cut off by the tone of the call ending. He sighed and walked to the den, where he scowled at what he saw. “Makar Aleksandrovich Radulov, did I say you could watch cartoons this morning?!”

“No,” he admitted sadly.

Sasha turned off the TV. “Come with me. We have to get the guest room ready.”

“Who’s coming?”

“It’s a surprise you’ll like very much.”

As they got to work making the bed and finding spare towels, Sasha thought back to what he’d said to Tosha about Makarka: “Your presence is the best gift he could ever receive.” He didn’t want to admit it, but Tosha’s presence was probably the best gift Sasha could ever receive, too.

A few hours later, Sasha left Makarka with a neighbor and drove to the airport. He found Tosha right away and was rewarded with Tosha’s beautiful smile, followed by an almost painful bear hug. “Hi,” Sasha managed to say.

“Hi,” Tosha replied before letting go so they could walk to Sasha’s car. “I’m so happy to be here, Sasha, you have no idea.”

“I’m very happy you’re here, too.” It felt like an understatement, but Sasha decided not to start thinking about the reasons why right now.

Sasha dropped off Tosha before picking up Makarka from the neighbor. When they got back home and Makarka saw their guest, he squealed with joy. “Tosha!!!!!”

“Makarka!!!!” Tosha scooped him up and gave him a big hug. Sasha watched silently, allowing himself to privately wonder what it would be like to see that on a permanent basis.

**

If Sasha had to pick one word to describe life with Tosha in the house, he would probably go with “comfortable.” Tosha helped with things like cooking and cleaning, which made Sasha realize how much easier a second set of hands made everyday life. And, as predicted, Makarka was absolutely delighted to have Tosha around so much, which made Sasha very happy, too.

Of course, seeing Tosha so much during the day prompted Sasha to spend a fair amount of time at night reminiscing about the beginning of their friendship, but that wasn’t new. The new part was the intensity with which Sasha thought about it.

Fourteen years ago, Sasha met Tosha when they were roommates at a U18 Worlds tournament. They quickly became good friends, and Sasha ended up falling for him by the start of the knockout stage. By the end of the tournament, they were flirting quite a bit in the privacy of their room. However, neither of them started a conversation about it, so they went their separate ways after the tournament with gold and a tight friendship – and, on Sasha’s side, unresolved longing.

In fairness, Sasha had had a number of relationships over the years, so he hadn’t spent all of his time pining over Tosha. But the last of those relationships had ended some time ago, and Sasha’s priority was now his son. Any future romantic partners would have to get along well with him.

…And that made Tosha perfect, didn’t it?

**

The first day of the preseason tended to include a lot of chirping. When the team found out that Sasha was hosting new guy Tosha, the two of them became the primary target of said chirping. Sasha took it all in stride, and at first, so did Tosha. That changed when the chirps started calling him “Uncle Dobby” – to Sasha’s surprise, this made Tosha frown. The guys noticed this and collectively decide to chirp someone else; Sasha decided to talk to Tosha about this after practice just to make sure everything was okay.

“Do you not like the nickname ‘Dobby’ because you’re not a small, wrinkly elf?” he asked as they drove home.

“No, I’m fine with that nickname,” Tosha replied.

“Then why didn’t you like the guys using it?”

Tosha sighed softly. “The ‘Uncle’ part is inaccurate. Makarka never calls me that. He just says ‘Tosha,’ like you do.”

Sasha hadn’t realized that. Makarka called the other guys on the team his uncles, mainly because that was how they referred to themselves in front of him. “Uncle Tosha…” he whispered, then shook his head. “No, that’s not you.”

Tosha blinked, but didn’t say anything else. He looked…hesitant, Sasha decided. It wasn’t a common look for Tosha – in fact, the last time Sasha could remember Tosha looking hesitant was that very last night at the tournament fourteen years ago.

“Tosha, I…” He gulped. “After we won gold, I thought about saying something because I thought you wanted to say something. I was really scared, so I didn’t. And…I’m still scared, but I’m even more scared of what might happen if I make the same mistake again.”

“Sasha…” Tosha was barely audible. “I wanted to tell you that I was in love with you. But we were so young, and it was all so confusing, so I didn’t. But I’ve never stopped loving you. And I know you have your son to think about -”

“Not really,” Sasha interrupted. “You love each other so much that it’s not exactly a concern. We’ll have to be careful, and we should probably take it slow, but I loved you then and I love you now, so let’s do this.”

Tosha smiled brightly. “I’m kissing you as soon as we get home.”

Much as Sasha loved that idea, he had to amend it slightly: “Unless, of course, I kiss you first.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :D


End file.
